Car-seal.



W. C. MARTINEAU.

- GAR SEAL. APPLICATION TILED MAIL27, 1911.

1,032,414. Patented July 16, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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COLUMBIA PLANoGRAPx-l C0., WASHINGTON. D. c.

W.'G. MARTINEAU.

CAR SEAL.

APPLIUATION FILED 11,111.27, 1911.

1,032,414. 1 Patented July 16, 1912.

2 SHBBTHEET 2.

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coLuMBlA, PLANOORAPH so., WASHINGTON, D. cA

WILLIAM C. MARTINEAU, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK.

CAR-SEAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 16, 1912.

Application led March 27, 1911. Serial No. 617,205.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, VILLIAM C. MAR- TINEAU, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of Albany, New York, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Cai'-Sea.ls, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to seals for the doors of cars, storerooms and the like, for gas and electric meters, and for similar purposes.

Car seals as now made are of two types; press seals, the tags of which are of soft metal so as to be stamped with a station number, or other mark indicating the place of shipment; and self-contained or nonpress seals, the tags of which are usually of brass, tin or other hard metal, which are stamped at the time of making with initials or the like indication of the name of the carrier and with a series of consecutive numerals.

The object of the present invention is to produce a device which may be used either as a press or a self-contained seal, and which shall be simple, eilicient, economical in construction, easily sealed, and incapable of being uusealed except by its destruction.

Further objects of the invention will appear in this speci [ication and be pointed out in the claims.

ln the drawings, which represent preferred forms of my invention, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a seal in assembled, operative position; Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the plane rit-A, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an elevation of the tag portion,- showing modified indicia; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the box portion, partly broken away; Fig'. 5 is a view like that of Fig. 4t, showing a modification; Figs. 6 and 7 are partial plan views of two forms of the shackle portion; Fig. 8 is a horizontal section through the plane B-B, Fig. 1; Fig. 9 is a. front elevation of a modified form of my seal, assembled; Fig. 10 is an elevation of the tag of Fig. 9; F ig. 11 is a partly broken perspective view of the box of Fig. 9; F 12 is a vertical section through the plane X-X, Fig. 9; Fig. 13 is a horizontal section through the plane YY, Fig. 9; Figs. 14 and 15 are views like that of F ie.

projecting tongues at each of its ends, and p pierced with three slots. The tongues 12, 13 are folded first upwardly and then inwardly to form inner flanges, and the blank is then folded longitudinally to form a rectangular box, having a double top 111, a front wall 15, a bottom wall 16 and a rear wall 17. The slots in the blank are so positioned that those nearest its edges are superposed when the blank is folded, forming an aperture 18,

which is directly above'the third slot or apertur-e 19 in the bottom 16 of the box, see Fig. 4L. 21 is the tag port-ion of the seal, preferably made of arelatively soft and fusible metal, as aliiuninum, having a body portion 22 slightly tapered from its upper to its lower end, and formed with shoulders 23, above which is a head 21, on the lower part of which is embossed a bead 23, Below the head 211, at a distance equal to the thickness of the double top 14E of the box 11, are two rectangular apertures 25, between which is an upwardly projecting, integral tongue 26. In Fig. 3, the head 241 is shown as stamped with one of a series of consecutive numbers, indicated at 27, the body 22 carrying the proprietary mark of the railway or other carrier, indicated at 28. 31 is the shackle portion of the seal, consisting of an integral piece of resilient wire, at each end of which is formed a hook 32, spaced away from which is a close return bend 33. Premising that the indicia on the tag of Fig. 3 are those now referred to, the operation of the device is as follows: The tag 21 is iirst forced downward through the, apertures 1S, 19 in the box 11, which apertures it completely fills, so that the shoulders 23 and the bead 2. a rest on the top of the box; the tongue 26 being momentarily forced back into its slot during its passage through the of the box 11, the latter beingrestricted by the flange 13, but yields to pass through this n ,opening and over the edges of the tag 21,

and springs outward'into the aperture 25 in the tag, so as to vprevent its subsequent with- ,drawaL The bend 33 in the shackle fills the aperture in the end of the box, see Fig. 8, and thus prevents the introduction of a pick-lock or of any instrument by which the hook might be retracted. This form of my device is what l have described as a self-contained or non-press seal. lf a record is kept in thesupply department of the railway of the consecutive numbers of the seals issued to each station, these numbers serve to indicate the shipping point, as well as the particular shipment.

The tag of Fig. 1, the mechanical partsI of the device being as above described, shows a ypress seal. In this case, the tags when issued carry the indicia of the railway line, in the present instance on the head of the tag, while its body is left blank. After t-he seal is applied as described, a station number, or other index of the shipping point, is stamped into the body of the tag, as indicated at 29.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings, I show a modified form of my device. rl`he box 41, in general form and function like that of Fig. 4, differs therefrom in having the inturned flanges 12, 13 at one end only, `the other end of the box being provided with a small aperture-60 adapted to pass the wire 71 of the shackle, and to retain t-he enlarged head 74 formedv at one end thereof. The other end of the shackle is formed with the hook 32 and bend '33, as shown in Fig. 6, only one aperture 25 being operative or .required in the tag 21. rlhe box 41 also differs from that of Fig. 4 in that a longitudinal bead 61 is formed inthe lower top wall 62, and the upper top wall 63 is made somewhat narrower than lbefore and so as to abut against the bead 61 for its entire length. The lower Y top wall 62 is also shown as narrowed, so that it only extends tothe proximate edge of the aperture 18 in the wall 63, in which case the tongue 26 of the tag abuts against the under face of the upper wall 63.

Fig. 7 ofthe drawings shows a shackle 81 substantially like that marked -31 in Figs. 1 and 6, but differing-therefrom in three particulars: the hook V82 is shorter than 32, the

The hook 32 is ofr -greater width than the opening in Vthe-end` lequal to the `a tongue 26.

close bend 33 is discarded for a transverse bend 83, of course adapted to fill the end of the box as before described,and the portion of the wire between the hook andthe bend is curved forwardly, as shown at S4. It is this curved portion S4 which yields to permit the hook to passthe end of the box and the edge of the tag body, and which by its resilience forces the hook into the aperture 25. Gbviously.l the operation of the device is unchanged by these alterations.

After the box portion of the seal is formed, it may be hardened to-brittleness, the temper not being drawn, so that the insertion of a tool between the two upper'walls would act to break the box, instead of prying it open. The tag portion, whether made of aluminum or ether soft metal, should have sufficient resiliency to insure the tongue 26 springing out to its locking posit-ion after the tag` is forced into t-he box and at the same time be -soft enough to take the impress of the stamp, as shown on the body of Fig. 1. It will be seen that the tag cannot be forced downward through the box be cause of its tapered form, of the shoulders 23 and of the bead 23a. It is in practice unnecessary to provide all these means. After insertion, the tag cannot be withdrawn from the box because of the engagement of the tongue 26 with the top wall of the box, and of the hooks 32 with the apertures 25 in the tag. Vhere, as in Fig. 1, a station stamp is used which acts to emboss or raise the characters on the body of the tag, these form an additional obstacle to the withdrawal of the tag. there a tag of aluminum or like fusible metal is employed, it is impossible to soften the box by means'of heat for the purpose of prying it open and then reclosing it without entirely, or at least noticeably melting the tag, so that the receivers attention would certainly be called to the fact that it had been tampered with since sealing.

Referring now rto Figs. 9 to 13 ofthe drawings, 91 is the box portion of the seal, formed as before from an integral blank of, preferably, sheet steel, having a butt-joint 92. If the shackle is formed of round wire,

as shown, one side 93 of the box may be semi-cylindric, see Fig. 11. Before forming the blank, ythe central part of the bottom 94 is stamped down to form a pocket 95 and the top and bottom apertures 96 and 97 are cut through the sheet. The interior cross-seo tion of the box at its ends is in height diameter of the wire of the shackle, andin width three times. that diameter. The tag 101 has as before a tape-r body .22 provided with two apertures 25 and Above the body 22 the metal is folded to form a doubled flange 102,

:above which is a vertical head 103, the iange and head being wider than the upperrend of the body, forming shoulders 1011. The shackle 111 has at its ends hooks 112, separated by a curved portion 113 from a close return bend 11st, thus partaking of certain features of the shackle ends of Figs. 6 and 7. The sealing operation of this form of the device will be as before described. The tag 101 is foiced into the box 91, being pre: vented from passing therethrough by the flange 102 and the shoulders 104, the pocket 95 in the box providing` space for the tongue 2G, which acts as before to prevent the withdrawal of the tag. The shackle is locked as first described, the hooks 112 engaging in the apertures 25 in the tag and the bends 114- filling the ends of the box to prevent tampering. rlhe is of the material already noted; its face being here left blank to indicate that it may be used either as a press or a non-press seal as desired.

Figs. 111 and 16 show a modified forni of the device, generally similar to that last described. The box 121 is like 91, except that one of its ends 122 is compressed, sec Fig. 1G, to form a small aperture adapted to pass the shackle wire. The tag 131 may be either like that of Fig. 3 or Fig. 10, except that it requires only one aperture 25. The shackle 1141 is formed at one end with a head, shown as an eye lil-2, this end being inserted in the end of the box before the eye is formed. he other end of the shackle is as shown in Fig. 13. Gbviously, the operation of this forni of inydevice, as well as that of Fig. 5, similar to that described, except that only one end of the shackle needs to be inserted in the box, the other end being permanently secured therein.

Figs. 15, 17 and 1S show still aiiothei' modification. The box portion 151 may be made of steel tubing, the cross-section of which is shown in Fig. 18; and pierced with vertically alined apertures 152, 153 in its top and bottom walls. The tag 161 is shown as of the form of that shown in F 10, except that the apertures 25 and the tongue 26 are omitted, and two horizontal,

inwardly projecting tongues 165 are formedv in the body of the tag. Each end of the shackle 171 has a short, closely bent hook 172, connected by a straight portion 173 with a double return bend 174. To assemble the parts, the tongues 165 are momentarily foiced inward until their lower edges have entered the top aperture 152 in the box. When the tongues have passed into the box, they spring outward, and serve a double function, to prevent the withdrawal of the tag from the box, see Fig. 18; and to engage the hooks 172, to prevent the withdrawal of the shackle, see Fig. 15.

l have shown and described several modi-` fications in the various parts of my device, not intending thereby to limit the scope of iny invention, but on the contrary, to indicate that many mechanical changes, other than those shown, and many different combinations of the features of the parts as shown, may be made without departing from my invention. It is also to be linden stood that the seal may be used for a variety of purposes other than those described. l do not, therefore, desire to be limited except by the subjoined claims.

1What l claim is:

1. A car seal comprising three independ ent and primarily detached parts; a box, a tig and a shackle, said tag and said shackle being adapted to pass in to said box and pro vided with means for prevent ing their withdrawal therefrom, substantially for the purposes set forth.

2. ik car seal comprising three independent and primarily detached parts; a box, a tag and a shackle, said box being provided with an aperture for the insertion of said tag, and with an independent aperture for the insertion of an end of said shackle, all of said parts being provided with interlocking means, substantially for the purposes set forth.

3. A car seal comprising three independent parts; a box, a tag and a shackle, said box being provided with opposite transverse apertures adapted to receive said tag, and with independent apertures for the insertion of the ends of said shackle, said tag being provided with means for pre venting its withdrawal from said transverse apertures, said shackle being provided with means for preventing its withdrawal from said box, substantially for the purposes set forth.

4. A car seal comprising three iiidependent parts; a box, a tag and a shackle, said box being provided with an aperture for the insertion of said tag, and with an aperture at its end :tor the insertion of an end of said shackle, said shackle being provided lwith means for preventing its withdrawal from said end aperture and with an enlarged portion adapted to fill said end aperture, substantially for the purposes set forth.

5. A car seal comprising three indepeiident and primarily detached parts; a box, a tag and a shackle, said shackle being provided with a hook at one of its ends, said tag being provided with means within said box for preventing its withdrawal from said box and for locking engagement with the hook at the end of said shackle, substantially for the purposes set forth.

6. A car seal including a box, a tag and a shackle, said box being provided with apertures for receiving said tag, said tag being provided with means for preventing its passage through said box in one direction and with independent means for preventing its withdrawal from said box in the opposite direction, said shackle being provided at its .the opposite direction,

end with means for locking engagement Within said box, substantially for the purposes set forth.

7 A car seal including a box and a tag portion, said box being provided With apertures for receiving said tag, said tag being provided with an enlarged head for preventing its passage through said box in one direction, and With a resilient tongue for preventing its Withdrawal from said box in substantially for the purposes set forth.

S. A car seal comprising three independent parts; a box, a tag and a shackle; said tag and said shackle being adapted to pass into said box and provided With means for preventing their Withdrawal therefrom; said box portion being of relatively hard metal, and said tag portion being of relatively soft metal, substantially for the purposes set forth.

9. A car seal comprising three independ ent parts, a box, a tag and a shackle; said tag and said shackle being adapted to pass into said box and provided With means for preventing their Withdrawal therefrom; said box portion being of relatively infusible metal, and said tag portion being of relatively fusible metal, substantially for the purposes set forth.

l0. An independent, detached seal of the class described including a box portion of hard and relatively infusible metal and a tag portion of relatively soft and fusible metal adapted to receive the impress of ya sealing tool and irremovably insertible in said box, the material and construction of said box being such as to make it normally incapable of such distortion as would permit the removal of the tag therefrom, and

also incapable of being softened Vso as to permit such distortion by a degree of heat insuflicient to fuse the tag.

.11. An independent, detached seal of the class described including a pierced, folded and hardened sheet metal box portion and a tag portion of relatively soft and fusible metal adapted to receive the impress of a sealing tool and irremovably insertible in said box, the material and construction of said box being such as to make it normally incapable of such distortion as Would permit the removal of the tag therefrom and also incapable of being softened so as to permit such distortion by a degree of heat insufficient to fuse the tag.

12. A car seal comprising three independent and primarily detached parts; a box, a tag and a shackle, said parts being provided Withcoperating means whereby said tag and said shackle are insertible and irremovably. securable in said box, at least one end of said shackle being securable in said box after said tag is secured therein, substantially for the purposes set forth.

13. A car seal comprising three independent and primarily detached parts, a box, a tag and a shackle having aY hook at one of its ends; said parts being provided with cooperating means whereby said tag and said shackle are insertible and irremovably securable in said box, at least one end of said shackle being securable in said box by locking engagement of its hooked end with said tag after said tag is secured in said box, substantially for the purposes set forth.

VILLIAM C. MARTINEAU. l/Vitnesses:

GEO. L. COOPER,

LiLLm J. MARTINEAU.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

